《中国新歌声2》SING!CHINA S2 Episode 1 - Blind Auditions Round 1

Here we are again!!! Is it one year already? SING!CHINA is back with Season 2. There's a different spin to this season though! When the judges want to pick a student, their chairs will slide down, but when the student chooses a team, the team's flag will descend behind the student. There is a story behind each of the emblem on the flag... read more for the summary for this episode!




Jay Chou's emblem includes wings, symbolizing how he would bring his students to soar to great heights in this season. The letter "J" (Stands for Jay) in the middle is pink in color, because well, he likes pink. He is not called Princess Jay for nothing! Na Ying's on the other hand, says she likes the elements of chrysanthemum and lotus flowers and thus her emblem is in a gorgeous royal blue flower shape. Liu Huan's emblem includes HL which stands for "Huan Le" (means Joy) and also includes a leopard to emphasize the feeling of battling. Edison explains that he likes all things in balance, and he included his name's middle character in his team's emblem as well.

This time, the elimination style is also different.

Each judge will split their team into 3 small teams, and these 12 small teams will face-off each other (1 v 1) until each team is only left with 1 winner.

Eason and Na Ying start off with 天地在我心, a song by Liu Huan. It begins fairly normally, not particularly heart-wrenching. I think the two judges haven't warmed up / built much chemistry yet so probably we can expect more from this duo in future.

Liu Huan and Jay Chou goes together for a medley of 一笑而过 and 你的背包 and immediately... obviously Jay Chou had gone on to level up in his singing (even more!!!) in the past year. Or maybe I just don't have a good memory. I definitely have taken my sides this season. Liu Huan is very very good as well especially when he take on the emotional parts of the song 一笑而过.



Jay Chou and Eason sing 谢谢侬, a song by Eason! Jay Chou is totally in his element with Eason - they totally gel much better together, Eason also reaching his tip-top condition with Jay!!! OK I am two minds about Eason now, I do love his songs and him as a singer but not sure how he'd do as a judge. But he is totally stunning in this performance. FAN GIRL MODE ON.



And then obviously, the much anticipated pair JAY CHOU AND NA YING!!! Because they have built up the most chemistry, and they are also singing one of my favourite songs (this song has been on repeat for a while now whenever I'm alone this year) 因为爱情. They both look super emo in this performance (Ha). Jay Chou changed up the lyrics (CD with 范特西 and sneakily add in a line of 一步两步看星星~) and it is AMAZING. Definitely must watch. And Na Ying's voice is used exactly for what it is meant to sing for - emo long songs. This is the best for now. Go watch this part if you don't have time for the whole thing :) Although I must emphasize I prefer the original, who can beat Eason and Wang Fei?

Liu Huan and Eason take on 菊花台 and it is Okay I guess, I think Eason can only be brought to his highest levels if he has a performance partner that suits him.



Na Ying and Liu Huan sings 过把瘾 together. They haven't partnered in this stage since Voice of China Season 2 which is four years ago. It is pretty good for the two older judges who are indeed more experienced.



All four judges gather to finish off with 沧海一声笑 - Eason performing the Canto rendition and the rest singing the Chinese version. The guys sing the first two verses, and once Na Ying's voice began, the Queen is here, man. Hopefully with Eason's addition, students singing Canto songs will receive more recognition.



Ci Ren La Ji 次仁拉吉 a band 紫麒麟 lead singer from Tibet kicks off the whole season. She sings 穷开心, in a fun and cheerful style. Totally Eason's style of reggae, so it is no surprise he hits the button for her. She is a cross between Joanna Wang with a Beijing-like accent. Na Ying and Eason pick her, but ultimately she chose Eason! The stage explodes with 谢谢侬 ~ And Eason's flag descends.



DJ Zhu Wen Ting from Wuhan is up next, and she sings 淘汰, a vehhh-ry famous song sung by Eason and written by Jay Chou. The first few verses begin steadily with small changes to the original song, but her voice gets people to sing with her easily with an emotional twinge. Na Ying hits the button for her. Liu Huan hits the button. Wen Ting builds her performance to a climax with a beautiful change to the original with a new interpretation for it. Eason slams the button at the last minute, and Jay Chou follows close behind. Zhu Wen Ting is the first 4-turns contestant this season. It could be anyone's choice but she chooses Jay Chou! The stage roars into life with 霍元甲 ~ And Jay Chou's flag descends.



Born into a musical family and Cantonese opera, 19-year old Ye Xuan Qing goes for a 从前慢. Her first line... totally reminds me of... Zhang Bi Huan. Tell me you think so too? But her voice seems richer, though less affective. Liu Huan and Eason hits the button for her. She even looks like Zhang Bi Huan. Na Ying hits the button at the final moment, and she immediately teared. Is that any surprise that Xuan Qing picks Na Ying in the end? No.. obviously waiting for Na Ying to hit the button for her! 春暖花开 plays in the background as Na Ying's flag descends. Actually Liu Huan would be more suitable for her, but OK. Hopefully she won't be groomed into yet another Zhang Bi Huan.



Zhang Zhe ("Mouth God", coined by Na Ying) from Beijing performs an amazing 天气那么热 by Jacky Zhang. He is a beatboxer who got 2nd in the recent international beatboxing competition. He managed to confuse the judges enough to think it was done by at least 4-5 people. But it was all done by 1 person. Eason and Liu Huan hit the button for him. He wanted Jay Chou, but Jay Chou did not hit the button. Zhang Zhe chooses Eason! No surprise in this at all, Eason is also very good with beatboxing/ hip-hop genre just like Jay Chou.



21-year old Hainanese Fu Rong Peng sings 无条件, a song by Eason. No prizes for guessing who he came for. This is also the first Cantonese song sung in this competition. Nobody turns for him even though it is quite a heart-wrenching rendition.



Next up - Singaporean representative! Joanna Dong Zi Yan, who sang 10 years of jazz as a bar singer. She is obviously much more experienced and steady when it comes to public speaking than most of the other contestants. She sings 恋曲1990. Her voice can be described as beautiful and languid, I like it. Jay Chou hits the button for her. It uplifts moods. I can imagine her voice being put to better use with other songs. Not a particular fan of this song. Eason and Liu Huan hit the button for her towards the end. I think she would do even better with a more commercial spin and less of a bar singer style - I highly anticipate her future improvements! Zi Yan chooses Jay Chou.

The first episode of SING!CHINA blind auditions end here.



To summarize, these are the judges' results up till now:

Na Ying
Ye Xuan Qing

Eason
Ci Ren La Ji
Zhang Zhe

Liu Huan

Jay Chou
Zhu Wen Ting
Joanna Dong Zi Yan

《中国新歌声2》SING!CHINA S2 summary brought to you by www.amiehu.com

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